Will El Niño be enough to break California’s drought?

California is stuck in an oppressive drought. For nearly a year, drought conditions have domination the state’s landscape, resources and concerns. According to the latest Drought Monitor report, 79 percent of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought as of July 8.

Most of the regulations proposed are aimed at reducing outdoor water use in cities and towns, which the State Water Resources Control Board say accounts – in some areas – for more than half of residents’ daily water use.

“We are in a drought of historic proportions,” board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Many urban water users don’t realize how bad this drought is. They’re not seeing the communities that are actually running out of water. … They don’t see the streams and creeks running dry.”

The San Francisco (Calif.) Gate reports that it’s this downgrade that leaves many to worry about the long-term outlook for California’s drought. Southern California may reap more of the moisture benefits than the northern half of the state.